Chinese Police Will Soon Patrol The Streets Of Paris

Chinese police will be patrolling the streets of Paris this
summer alongside their French counterparts to help combat a surge
in attacks against high-spending Chinese tourists.

The French authorities are determined to improve security for
more than a million Chinese tourists who visit the capital for
shopping and sightseeing each year.

Their habit of carrying large amounts of cash has made them a
“prime target for muggers and pickpockets”, a police source said.

Chinese visitors to Paris are estimated to spend an average of
€1,470 (£1,205) each on shopping, mainly buying designer brands,
according to Global Blue, the Swiss-based duty free services
company.

An interior ministry official said the number of Chinese police
to be deployed in Paris was still being decided. “Their role will
be preventive and they will carry out patrols with French police
at tourist sites,” the official said.

In an incident that caused alarm in Beijing and received wide
media coverage, a group of 23 Chinese visitors were robbed of
cash and passports last year as they left a restaurant only a few
hours after landing at Charles de Gaulle airport.

“That was the tipping point,” said Tang Lu, the manager of the
travel agency Chine Tourisme. “There had always been pickpockets,
but last year physical attacks started happening along with the
thefts.”

The Chinese are the biggest buyers of duty free goods in Paris.
The department stores Galeries Lafayette and Printemps employ
hundreds of bilingual staff to help Chinese customers find their
way around, but say they are powerless to protect them as they
leave the stores.

“We’ve witnessed a lot of muggings,” said a Chinese saleswoman at
a luxury goods store. “The thieves are usually on motorbikes.
They ride up on to the pavement and grab the tourists’ bags.”

More Chinese tourists are expected this summer because of a
series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations between France and
Communist China.

In an indication of the importance Paris attaches to encouraging
Chinese visitors, Laurent Fabius, the foreign minister,
personally welcomed tourists arriving on a flight from Beijing
last week.